Sonia Bathla, Director of Sports at Ahmedabad University's Office of the Dean of Students, was recently awarded the Hockey India President Award for Technical Official of the Year 2023 at the Hockey India 6th Annual Awards 2023 in New Delhi.

India's best hockey stars, officials and legends were celebrated at the ceremony, which was organised by the National Federation. 

The award is a recognition of Bathla's achievement as having been selected as one of the four Indian officials for the 2023 Men's Hockey World Cup, held in Bhubaneswar. She served as the technical officer of the International Hockey Federation (FIH), making her the only official Indian woman at the event. Bathla also worked as the technical official for the Women’s Asian Games Qualifier 2022 in Jakarta and Commonwealth Games 2022 in Birmingham.

Sonia Bathla is a national hockey player and has represented the State of Delhi and Delhi University on several occasions as a captain at the nationals. She is a recipient of the National Award for Best Official, Umpire, and Judge (Female) in hockey. She is also a committee member for umpiring, officiating, and competitions in Hockey India.